Lions make history in Hamilton

It is their first win over the Chiefs in New Zealand and the first time since 2011 that they have beaten the Chiefs anywhere.

And the Lions – two from two in this year's Super Rugby season – are now a 17-match unbeaten run – their last defeat having been the loss to the Brumbies on May 16 last year, and includes their 12-match victory run on the way to a Curie Cup triumph last year.

The teams scored four tries each in Hamilton on Saturday, but the Chiefs' discipline let them down and the boot of flyhalf Elton Jantjies prove to be the difference – despite struggling in the windy conditions.

Despite the referee overlooking some blatant obstruction early in the game , the Lions managed to maintain their composure and rook a 19-11 lead into the half-time break.

Despite the Chiefs getting an early try through Tom Sanders, after the Lions' defence was briefly exposed, the men from Johannesburg came back with a well-worked five-pointer through hooker Malcolm Marx.

The Chiefs were down a man early in the second half, as their discipline continued to let them down, and Courtnall Skosan soon made the numerical advantage count as the Lions produced a great blindside move.

However, two sublime tries from Damian McKenzie and Hames Lowe – which exposed the Lions' sometimes brittle defence in a big way – changed the game in an instant.

However, the Lions were not to be outdone and produce a sublime team try, scored by captain Warren Whiteley – after a great run on the angle – as the visitors reclaimed the led.

Further tries by Ruan Combrinck and Brad Weber saw the game go down to the wire – with the Lions holding on in the face of a powerful late surge by the home team.

In the closing two minutes the Chiefs twice won penalties on the Lions' line, but were unable to convert them into points.

Being four points in arrears they were forced to go for line-out drives but they could not break the well-drilled Lions pack.

The Lions led for most of the game, apart from a brief period at the start of the match and in the middle of the second half as they made light of their arduous travel itinerary – almost 45,000 air miles in the last 10 days.

They are the first team in the expanded competition to head from South Africa to Japan where they beat newcomers the Sunwolves 26-13 last week before travelling south to New Zealand.

"I'm a bit speechless at the moment," elated captain Warren Whitely said when the final whistle blew.

"They put so much pressure on us right until the death and we managed to pull it off in the end."

But while forward power ensured the win, Whiteley said it was the backs who deserved the credit.

"We weren't happy with last week's performance, so we worked really hard on our string to spread it from side to side and I think it worked."

With a superior pack and a lethal No.8-No.9-No.10 combination of Whiteley, Francois de Klerk and Jantjies, the Lions dominated territory and flyhalf Jantjies feasted on penalties as the Lions raced to a 19-11 lead by half-time.

Tom Sanders scored a try for the Chiefs and Malcolm Marx scored for the Lions with Jantjies' three penalties and a conversion making the difference in the first half while the Chiefs' extra points came from two Damian McKenzie penalties.

A Courtnall Skosan try early in the second half put the Lions out to a 24-11 lead before the Chiefs struck back to hit the front 25-24 when quick tries by McKenzie and James Lowe, both converted by McKenzie, produced 14 points in two minutes.

However, it was a short-lived advantage with the Lions adding a further two tries of their own by Whiteley and Ruan Combrinck.

With eight minutes remaining, the Chiefs reduced the deficit to four with a Brad Weber try converted by McKenzie but were unable to get any closer.

Man of the match: Seta Tamanivalu and Charlie Ngatai exposed the Lions' defence in a big way at times. Aaron Cruden, while by no means flawless, was the steadying influence. Sam Cane and Tom Sanders did what most loose forwards do – worked tirelessly. However, Damian McKenzie was the spark that repeatedly go the Chiefs on the front foot and back into the game. You can look at the attacking prowess of Andries Coetzee, Ruan Combrinck, Lionel Mapoe and Elton Jantjies, but it was up front where the Lions did most of the damage. The loose trio of Warren Whiteley Jaco Kriel and Warwick Tecklenburg were always at the forefront. However, it was the Lions' scrum that set the tone for their outstanding performance and then came their amazing defence late in the game. This is a team award – to all the Lions.

The scorers:

For the Chiefs:

Tries: Sanders, McKenzie, Lowe, Weber

Cons: McKenzie 3

Pens: McKenzie 2

For the Lions:

Tries: Marx, Skosan, Whiteley, Combrink

Cons: Jantjies 2

Pens: Jantjies 4

Yellow card: Mitchell Graham (Chiefs, 42 – professional foul, offside)

Teams:

Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Latu Vaeno, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (co-captain), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Sam Cane (co-captain), 6 Tom Sanders, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Michael Allardice, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 Pauliasi Manu.

Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Mitchell Graham, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Michael Leitch, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, Glen Fisiiahi.

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylan Smith.

Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corné Fourie, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 Fabian Booysen, 21 Jaco van der Walt, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg.

Referee: Andrew Lees (Australia)

Assistant referees: Nick Brian (New Zealand), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)

TMO: Aaron Paterson (New Zealand)

Agence France-Presse & @rugby365com

* Pictures courtesy of @LionsRugbyUnion